Located near the old imperial palace, the building was granted for use to the Bishop of Reggio (1255) and from there to the Friars Minor Conventual of S. Francis.
Collection of the Palazzo dei Musei
Collection of the Palazzo dei Musei
In 1270, it was enlarged and then restored. A more radical restoration was carried out in 1755 by architect Giovan Maria Ferraroni.
Collection of the Palazzo dei Musei
In 1799, upon the death of Lazzaro Spallanzani, the great scientist from Scandiano in the province of Reggio Emilia, the city acquired the scientist’s naturalistic collection, which now constitutes the oldest collection in the museum.
Zoological collection
Zoological collection
In the entranceway, important fragments of mosaic floors are set into the walls. The fragments, which come from a number of Roman era Reggian churches and floors, were found in digs carried out at the start of the twentieth century.
Collection of the Palazzo dei Musei
Collection of the Palazzo dei Musei
The Spallanzani Museum collection, the oldest as previously mentioned, is still organized according to the criteria employed at the end of the 1700s. The collection of African trophies which belonged to Raimondo Franchetti is quite unusual and curious.
The Paleo-Ethnology section holds Don Gaetano Chierici’s original collection on the Reggio area, which is ordered chronologically from Paleolithic times to the High Middle Ages.
The Galleria dei Marmi (Marble Gallery) presents a vast collection of memorial stones, epigraphs and decorations dating from the Roman age to the seventeenth century.
Marble Gallery
Marble Gallery
The Museum of Reggio in Roman Times holds relics which date back to the city’s founding, up to the barbarian age. Of particular importance is the jewelry from the early Christian and Byzantine eras.
Roman museum with its treasure
On the top floor, the “Fontanesi” gallery exhibits paintings, ceramics, silver, fabrics and weapons. There is also a vast collection of Emilian paintings, including works by Alessandro Tiarini and Luca Ferrari, as well as paintings by Chierici, Minghetti and Fontanesi in the modern section.
The Mazzacurati Museum contains paintings, sculptures, and drawings by the artist, who was a prominent figure in figurative culture during the first half of the 20th century.
Collection of the Palazzo dei Musei
The new Prehistoric and Protohistoric Collection includes fascinating material found in recent digs. Not to be missed is the by now famous neolithic Venus found in Chiozza di Scandiano.
Finally, the Civic Museums are brought to a close with the Museum of Industrial Art, which is dedicated to local craft works. Inside the museum, next to the entrance, there is space dedicated to sale of Civic Museum publications. A catalogue of the over 200 publications is available free of charge.
Also within the complex is a library (specialized in archeology and art history) and a library containing Italian and European newspapers and periodicals (access is allowed only to scholars, university students and researchers).
The Museum organizes educational initiatives for all different kinds of schools relating to the varios themes documented in the various sections of the Museum. Conferences and guided tours are periodically organized on Sundays.
giraReggio, Accessible Version - Comune di Reggio Emilia 2020 - privacy | accessibility | credits
